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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think children are now in charge

319 replies

Itsmeagainandagain · 01/04/2021 07:25

The school kids protesting in London, how things have changed when we were children we done what we were told, now the kids are laying down the law and dictating to adults.

We already know children know they are above the law and untouchable, we had Greta Thunburg blame the older generation for all the faults of planet earth.

AIBU to think that children are being disrespectful and have no idea how the real world works? These are the same children who would be in floods of tears screaming if you changed the WiFi password to their gadgets, WiFi that us adults work to pay for!!

OP posts:
TempsPerdu · 01/04/2021 11:23

A brief period of being deemed “outstanding” wouldn’t turn my head as a parent. I think it’s easy to get carried away with an ofsted snapshot

Agree with this, and as a former teacher I’d say that Ofsted outcomes are often a reflection of results on paper, box ticking and having paperwork and policies in order, rather than the atmosphere or ethos of the school.

lynsey91 · 01/04/2021 11:24

@Iggly

Youngsters pretend to be concerned about climate change, pollution etc but most of them could not care less

I love how people tar all children with the same brush.

I also love how they forget that children are reflective of the adults around them, so if you’re seeing a lot of this then I would ask you to consider what kind of role model are you.

Of course I realise not all children are the same but, sadly, far too many are not concerned about the environment etc.

As I said before, look at the mess left behind at music festivals. Is that not mainly young people?

Not sure what you mean by "what kind of role model are you". I have never dropped or thrown litter, I recycle everything I can, hardly ever buy new items etc. I don't have children as me and DH are concerned about overpopulation and feel the planet is totally fucked because of climate change, overpopulation, rising sea levels etc.

freckles20 · 01/04/2021 11:26

This has to be an April Fool.

CuthbertDibbleandGrubb · 01/04/2021 11:27

Children did not vote in governments that have allegedly allowed them to be above the law.
Children did not vote in governments and a London Mayor that cut the size of the police force and under funded the justice system.
Children do not buy SUVs and drive less than a mile to school because their parents are too lazy to walk a short distance or manage their time.
Children were not the members of the Conservative Party who chose Boris Johnson to be leader.

BiBabbles · 01/04/2021 11:28

Why would anyone be fighting against their own country (i.e. anti-nationalism)

Nationalism isn't our country, it's an ideology that one's loyalty, devotion, and identity connected with the nation should surpass any other individual or group interests and that our nation's interest should always come before the interest of anyone else (with who defines the nation's best interest depending on the nationalist individual or group).

Anti-nationalism runs the spectrum of simply thinking sometimes our nation's interests shouldn't come first when it's harming others to a large extent and that the nation isn't where we should be putting our sense of self, which tends to be a backlash to nationalism, all the way to people who advocate for the elimination of national boundaries.

Goldenbear · 01/04/2021 11:29

I actually think society has become more and more intolerant of children, like they are a separate species, I am not sure if it's too do with the decline in birth rate in the UK but they haven't really been thought about during the pandemic and the tolerance for children and young people acting in a youthful way has certainly declined. My parents so Boomers have said amongst their friends that they are the only ones with 5 Grandchildren, friends with children in their late 30s just not having any children. I think this has to have an impact on the tolerance of them.

DioneTheDiabolist · 01/04/2021 11:34

I love seeing young people protest. Go on you wee stars.✊✊✊🙌

YABU OP, find something you are passionate about and campaign for that instead of moaning about the youth of today.Grin

ceilingsand · 01/04/2021 11:43

I came on to agree, because I thought you were referring to the government 😀

GrapeLipBalm · 01/04/2021 11:59

Ha ha yes I'd agree with that ceiling

C8H10N4O2 · 01/04/2021 13:43

Children should be grateful to be given the opportunity to attend an Outstanding school. They should be in the classroom, learning, rather than protesting

No they shouldn't. Parents and children should appreciate good teaching and schools but they shouldn't be "grateful" for a service which the community has paid for.

You may argue the community should pay more for that service (and I'd agree) but "grateful" implies a lack of entitlement to a service which has been paid for. It implies that we should never complain and just accept even poor quality services like Oliver Twist begging for more gruel.

jessstan2 · 01/04/2021 13:53

Children should be grateful to be given the opportunity to attend an Outstanding school. They should be in the classroom, learning, rather than protesting

Two 'shoulds'?

Children do not need to be grateful for something which is every child's right.

derxa · 01/04/2021 14:01

@SpringTimeDream

I think it is great when young people care about the environment apart from the mass gathering of MAINLY young people in Sheffield and Nottingham (LOTS OF STUDENTS ETC) that left all the bottles, cans, plastic and other rubbish for others to collect.

So great when they can be bothered but not so happy when they party and forget the environment etc etc

Yes
CornishPastyDownUnder · 01/04/2021 14:12

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

AlwaysLatte · 01/04/2021 14:15

now the kids are laying down the law and dictating to adults.
Perhaps if those adults had done the same about climate change at the same age we'd be in a better place. Well done those youngsters for making a very valuable point.

needachange11 · 01/04/2021 17:41

I'm 50/50 on it I had a massive Afro at school and I could not tame it one bit (not that I should have to) my daughter is mixed race and has a huge Afro.
I don't really understand what Afro's and what colour hijabs have to do with learning and can't see why it's even an issue.
However the England flag I believe should be left up.

UsedUpUsername · 01/04/2021 17:54

@AlwaysLatte

now the kids are laying down the law and dictating to adults. Perhaps if those adults had done the same about climate change at the same age we'd be in a better place. Well done those youngsters for making a very valuable point.
Done what exactly? Leave people to freeze in the winter in dire poverty?

I knew kids growing up (not in UK) that didn’t have running water or indoor plumbing, or more than a scrubby pair of shoes.

Poverty kills.

CandyLeBonBon · 01/04/2021 22:02

This thread has been an eye opener. And not in a good way.

malificent7 · 01/04/2021 22:09

The kids are right of course. It is their future we are ruining. I do think that with regards to parenting it is no longer accaptable to be an old dragon...their is a fine line between authoritarianism and abuse.

C8H10N4O2 · 01/04/2021 22:45

Well, [Socrates] was forced to drink poison so maybe he was right?

I seem to have missed the account of his trial where his adult male peer jurors were replaced with chidren.

CandyLeBonBon · 01/04/2021 22:57

@C8H10N4O2

Well, [Socrates] was forced to drink poison so maybe he was right?

I seem to have missed the account of his trial where his adult male peer jurors were replaced with chidren.

😁
RoseyMinerals · 01/04/2021 23:01

OP you sound hopelessly ill informed and quite unpleasant.

Tinydinosaur · 01/04/2021 23:05

@TempsPerdu

Oh, and after a year of certain posters crying ‘ageism’ whenever any concerns about lockdown, vaccine passports or young people’s sacrifices in the name of Covid were raised, this thread is an excellent example of Mumsnet’s reverse ageism in action. It works both ways, you know. Wink
Yes! So sick of teens and younger people being slagged off on here and the second you even mention someone being over 50 you get shouts of ageism. Bloody sick of hearing about "ageism"
ElephantsNest · 01/04/2021 23:17

Mother is that you? The Daily Mail has sold out and you’re bored and goady again aren’t you?

P999 · 01/04/2021 23:17

I'm actively raising my kids not to blindly follow authority. Not to be difficult for the sake of it, but to question and think for themselves. They're neither rude, disrespectful or rebelling just for the sake of it. I'm not allowed to buy the wrong food (must be fairtrade, no unnecessary packaging etc). And I will let them protest their hearts out, if they want. Did the same myself at their age. I would be disappointed, tobe honest, if they were unquestioning rule followers.

Mittens030869 · 01/04/2021 23:21

Yes! So sick of teens and younger people being slagged off on here and the second you even mention someone being over 50 you get shouts of ageism. Bloody sick of hearing about "ageism"

There has always been this conflict between generations. When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, older people used to moan about the ‘younger generation’ having no respect, and children and young people would have thought of ‘oldies’ (okay, anyone over 40 seemed elderly back then Grin) as being out of touch.

It’s all become so polarised these days, with the advent of social media, and people are spending too much time shouting and not enough time listening to each other. (Yes, this is the view of an ‘oldie’, at 51, sadly.